The Glitch Sonic, dubbed Ashura by fans, is a color palette glitch in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 where Sonic's sprite becomes green and black. The glitch can be made to occur by activating Debug Mode and placing waterfalls in a certain pattern/area. The Glitch Sonic was originally discovered by Charles "Kiken" Mugg, who also has given the nickname Ashura to Sonic with corrupted color palette. Kushami, a member of the Sonic Retro message boards has given an overview of the Glitch Sonic's origin in June 2008.[1]

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Unlocking the Glitch Sonic

In Sonic the Hedgehog 2, the player has to activate Debug Mode regularly and select Emerald Hill Zone from the Level Select screen. When the player enters the Zone, he has to make an invisible object and a large waterfall in the Debug Mode. Each area unlocks a different color palette.

In Emerald Hill Zone Act 1, the player has to press the B button immediately to become a Ring in Debug Mode. By pressing the A button four times, the player can find an object that is invisible, place it multiple times by pressing C repeatedly, and the player will create multiple large waterfalls around the area. Afterwards, by pressing the B button to close Debug Mode, Sonic changes into a multicolored Sonic (colors change depending on where waterfalls are placed). In Emerald Hill Zone Act 2, the player has to place multiple large waterfalls on the first CoconutsBadnik to change into a red, black and green Sonic.

The reason for the Glitch Sonic's happening comes from the game's limited RAM quantity that will start overloading the data, when numerous amounts of waterfalls are added via Debug Mode. This will cause the sudden palette change for Sonic's blue color coincidentally.[1]

Trivia

When Sonic is hit by an enemy, the leg colors will revert to blue.

When Sonic's palette is glitched, his life icon additionally changes itself to the color swap.

If Super Sonic is activated, Sonic's standard sprite returns, due to the fact that his palette after transformation is located within the transformation palette.

After performing this glitch, almost everything changes color; the animals, the robots, etc.

This only happens if Sonic's eyes turn blue - if they remain black, only Sonic himself will change color.

The glitch will not always result in Sonic's fur being green and black. It can be yellow and black, red, green and brown, or even plain green.

While the Glitch Sonic doesn't function in the 2013 re-release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Super Sonic's color palette in underwater sections of Hidden Palace Zone is exactly the same as it was at Emerald Hill Zone in the original game.